There are two kinds of Education Systems exist in parallel in Afghanistan. Religious (Islamic) education starting from 4 – 20 years old boys and girls is the responsibility of Islamic teachers called (Mulla or Mowlawee) at Masjid where it is very important for Afghan Children to know their basis Islamic information, while the government provides free academic education at state schools starting from mostly age 7 to age 13 pupils attend primary schools where they learn the basics of reading, writing, speaking and understanding of Afghanistan Official languages Dari and Pashtu, drawings, arithmetic, Islamic Ethics and their national culture.

Since 2004 after Education System was privatized in Afghanistan and a lot of private schools were established based on Ministry of Education rules and regulations and started their activities based on their curriculum and the private schools was included also primary schools which are also starting from age 6 – 12 or 7 – 13 pupils attend primary private schools and where they also learn the above mentioned subjects and additionally, they also learn English language professionally from the basic classes. Students are mostly going to attend classes from 1 – 6 in primary schools.

After primary schools get finished, then there are three years of middle school follow where academic-style education continues and it includes from 7 – 9 classes in middle education. Students must pass an examination at the end of this phase if they wish to study further.

In the other countries, secondary school students have a choice between continuing with an academic path for 3 years that could perhaps lead on to university, or study subjects  such as applied agriculture, aeronautics, arts, commerce and teacher training, engineering and health instead.

But in Afghanistan in state schools, students should read all the subjects generally in classes 10 – 12 and it is not classified based on professions. Both programs culminate in a bacculuria examination and students should pass the final examination in order to attend in Higher Education in state universities.

Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan (MoHE) has a program by the name of “kankor examination” which is held once a year by MoHE and all fresh graduated of 12 grades are officially invited to nominate themselves to pass the Kankor examination in order to accede to the state universities to continue their higher education in different faculties.

The Kankor examination seems very complicated here in Afghanistan, the students are mostly get preparations for long time and finally the examination board will decide them in three categories of Pass, without result called “benatija” and fail which the list is announced in MoHE website after the students get examined in paper. The faculties are given to the students based on their high marks not based on their wish and the selection process of faculties are also very difficult and complicated and which qualified students even lose their chance because of the wrong selection not because of their qualification.

There are also some institutes which provide both governmental and private different vocational trainings parallel to higher education programs as well. those students who are not able to fulfill the criteria of the universities, then they will be introduced to the vocational institutes for almost 2 years and can have the role of assistants after graduation in the society.

Efforts are underway to recover the situation at Afghanistan’s 8 universities and to repair damage caused by civil conflict and war. Some progress is being made with female admissions too, although it may take many years for tertiary education to become academically independent.

 

The oldest of these institutions are Kabul Medical University established in 1923, and Kabul University founded in 1931. Fortunately Kabul University has now started its PH.D programs in 2013 which is a great chance for the Master degree holders to continue their PH.D programs in Kabul. Additionally there are many other private universities who already started the Masters program in 2013 as well. But students are strongly preferred to continue their higher education in Governmental universities not private one, because they believe that the governmental universities have their importance and authorities and abroad scholarship programs rather than private.

So, above mentioned statements are the current education system of Afghanistan starting from primary - tertiary education.

Written by: Sadaqatullah Sadiq, March 23, 2013, Kabul Afghanistan